How Will My Taxes Be Affected By This Election?

I'm not a Republican or a Democrat. But I don't like being lied to, and I assume you don't either. So when you're watching the next Presidential campaign ad about taxes, you may want to consider the following facts:

If you earn between $66K-$112K a year, you will save, on average, $1,009 with John McCain, and $1,290 with Barack Obama. If you earn between $38K-$66K, you will save, on average, $319 with McCain, and $1,042 with Obama.

These are the facts as presented by each campaign's policy team. You can read them here:

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/11/news/economy/candidates_taxproposals_tpc/?postversion=2008061113

If you prefer, you can watch CNN discuss the tax policy breakdown here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWXqpHEsrxc

Lastly, some people still believe the economy grows faster with a Republican President in office.

Historically speaking, this is also untrue.

Data for the whole period from 1948 to 2007, during which Republicans occupied the White House for 34 years and Democrats for 26, show average annual growth of real gross national product of 1.64 percent per capita under Republican presidents versus 2.78 percent under Democrats. That 1.14-point difference, if maintained for eight years, would yield 9.33 percent more income per person.

You can find this fact here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/business/31view.html?em

I hope you'll share this information with others you think are uncertain about how each candidate will affect their taxes.

A more detailed breakdown can be found at the website of the Tax Policy Center, a non-partisan policy group.

Brian Groh
Lawrenceburg Township